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- Music, Music Review Sep 10, 2020
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Frank Leone’s hip-hop experiments make for a beautifully bizarre debut album
- City Life, Public Service Announcement Sep 4, 2020
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A labor of love
Upcoming events and distractions from our listings coordinator
- Music, Music Review Jul 31, 2020
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Chicago rappers SD and Brian Fresco combine their distinctive styles for the whimsically joyful Muddbruddas
- Music, Music Feature Jun 10, 2020
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A room of Ohmme’s own
On Fantasize Your Ghost, Macie Stewart and Sima Cunningham make their music a place of trust, discovery, and compassion.
- Music, Music Feature May 12, 2020
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Naledge brings his rapper’s brain back to academia
Jabari “Naledge” Evans of Kidz in the Hall talks about his doctoral dissertation, incorporating hip-hop into education, the drill scene hacking the industry, and more.
- Music, Chicagoans of Note Apr 14, 2020
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PJ Gordon, hip-hop promoter, curator, and writer
“I have a pinned tweet on my page that says, ‘“I fucked someone to that playlist you made” is the highest compliment you can give me.’”
- Music, Music Feature Apr 23, 2019
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Operation Hennessy digs a new channel for Chicago hip-hop
Keen-eyed rapper Qari hooks up with producer Green Sllime and opens the floodgates on his reservoir of irreverent old-school beats.
- Music, Music Feature Nov 21, 2018
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Chicago rap crew Pivot Gang honor a fallen comrade
Saba’s Care for Me memorializes his cousin John Walt, whose generous spirit also survives in the arts nonprofit that bears his name—which holds its flagship concert fund-raiser this weekend.
- Arts & Culture, Feature Nov 13, 2018
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Brandon Lamar Rials is elevating jeans, one personalized pair at a time
The Pilsen-based designer crafts uniquely distressed pants.
- Blogs, Bleader Sep 18, 2018
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Chicago’s first Red Bull Music Festival is all over the map, with Pusha T, Makaya McCraven, Merzbow, and more
Tickets go on sale Tuesday, September 25, for Red Bull Music's sprawling November festival of concerts, showcases, and lectures.
- Music, Concert Preview Sep 7, 2018
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Food, football, fund-raising, and Freddie Gibbs at this weekend’s music fests
- Blogs, Bleader Aug 28, 2018
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Rapper Vic Mensa: Chicago’s newest Black Panther?
At this past weekend's "anti-bait-truck" shoe giveaway, the 25-year-old rapper declared himself a revolutionary.
- Blogs, Bleader Aug 21, 2018
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Lyrical Lemonade’s first outdoor festival: scads of Soundcloud rap, thousands of teenagers, and hours of waiting for food
Three Reader writers hash out the highs and lows of the Summer Smash, which showcased a young rap scene that's innovating a vital new sound but also celebrating alleged abusers.
- Music, Gossip Wolf Mar 13, 2018
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Vic Mensa throws a fund-raiser for his ambitious new charitable foundation
Plus: Shambolic glam punks the Sueves preview their forthcoming second album, and R&B horn man Sam Trump plays two sets at the California Clipper.
- Music, Music Feature Feb 28, 2018
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Towkio is officially Chicago’s highest rapper
The Save Money MC’s balloon trip to the stratosphere wasn’t just to promote his first album for Rick Rubin—it’s also about inspiration, perspective, and togetherness.
- Music, Gossip Wolf Feb 21, 2018
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Busy drummer Ben Billington releases music from two of his bazillion bands
Plus: Black digital media platform the TRiiBE crowdfunds new projects, and Pivot Gang cofounder Frsh Waters headlines this month’s All Smiles.
- Music, The Block Beat Feb 14, 2018
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Vic Mensa revisits his vanishing Hyde Park
The rising rapper considers his teenage stomping grounds home, even though gentrification has killed his favorite hangouts.
- Blogs, Bleader Jan 9, 2018
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Chicago rapper Kami has a big hit in the making with ‘Payload’
The standout single from Kami's June EP, Superstar, gets the party-video treatment for the new year.
- Music, Worst of Chicago Dec 21, 2017
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What Chicago media gets wrong about Chance, Keef, and the local hip-hop scene
Critics who fall back on shallow tropes and ignorant cliches deny us an enriching understanding of the musical cultures in our own backyard.
- Music, Gossip Wolf Dec 12, 2017
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Chicago hip-hop mourns musician and designer Quincy ‘Q’ Easton Kelly
Plus: Joyride Records throws its first plugged-in show.
- Blogs, Bleader Dec 4, 2017
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Vic Mensa opens for Jay Z, and more of the best things to do in Chicago this week
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver writer Josh Gondelman at Zanies, and more goings-on the week of December 4-7
- Music, Concert Preview Nov 22, 2017
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Rap king Jay Z and his ascendant protege Vic Mensa tour together in support of their recent self-reflective albums
- Blogs, Bleader Nov 2, 2017
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Fake Shore Drive founder Andrew Barber on ten years of blogging and the evolution of the Chicago hip-hop scene
Fake Shore Drive has grown alongside Chicago rap, becoming an institution in its own right—and it celebrates its tenth anniversary by reuniting Big Tymers for a show at the Portage.
- Music, Music Feature Nov 1, 2017
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Knox Fortune learned his trade in hip-hop, but he wants to make his name in pop
The producer also known as Kevin Rhomberg headlines his first show as a solo artist to celebrate his debut album, Paradise.
- Blogs, Bleader Oct 20, 2017
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Daily Show’s final night in Chicago: Hasan Minhaj on 90s Bulls and North Korea; Vic Mensa on the city’s ‘toxic situation’
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah wraps up a stint at the Athanaeum Theatre.